This means it is not available, but they have a mother plant, and will root 1 for you if you pay up front. If you saw this on the Vintage website, please be aware that it could take up to three years to get your rose. I had a Lucky Piece custom rooted and thats about how long it took for me to get the rose. At the time I ordered it, it was $40, but I think the price has since increased.

Be aware that some roses do not root easily so much of the cost and time can go into repeated attempts to root it.
With some outfits, the words "custom root" gives them the chance to charge exorbitant prices for their products.

I cannot see charging such a high price for "custom rooting". Nature does all the work and it only takes a few minutes to stick a cutting. Once done, time is the other factor.
Once rooted, a saleable bush can be produced in a few month if growing conditions are right.
For example, the Happy Butt cuttings I rooted in June of this year are still quite small and are probably a year away from a good sized bush but can be shipped in September. Were I to wait until they reached full size in two more years, they might be worth $40 including shipping but that would be the only way I could justify the cost.
It always amazed me that Ken Muncy in Florida could have a nice size rooted cutting in as little as two months. His growing conditions permitted that. The same cuttings can take all season to achieve the same size in my area.

So could you ask another forum member to root a bush for you and pay them for their troubles? Or is this type of request frowned upon?

redsox,
What rose are you looking for?

Or you can request cuttings and root it yourself.

It is a floribunda called Ripples. Maybe I can request a cutting. I have never done it before. What is the best time of year to try to root it?

It looks like they have it for sale also. Did you call them and ask?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sequoia Nursery

They don't take Spring orders until January. Hopefully I will be able to order it then. Thanks.

Wouldn't it be something if "custom root" meant more then just "own root" propagation? Steve in Wisconsin buds to multiflora, and others down south bud to Fortuniana. What if someone gave you a choice as to rootstock as well as variety? Not much money in it I'm sure as only a relative few might take advantage of it and we are getting away from personalized service in even more market-centric areas then roses. But one can dream.

So, then you learn how to bud so that you can do it yourself on whatever rootstock you want to experiment with. I'm eventually going to try it using multiflora.

Me too Diane. I got the dvd from Steve at WI Roses as a present, and this winter I am really going to study this.

No every nursery charges $45 fro custom rooting. Roseland (NC) charges $2. As far as I know Ashdown didn't charge for custom rooting at all. So you may want to shop around and compare the fees for custom rooting. (On the other hand if Vintage offers something as Âcustom root" for $45 this year the very same rose may be available as regular band next year.)

I think you can ask forum members for cuttings or maybe even rooted seedlings if the rose is not under patent (more than 20 years old)

I sometimes have great success in rooting a number of varieties; still I prefer trading rooted cuttings because I seldom had success with cuttings shipped to me (except with those I got from Debbie from CA). I lost a few of rooted seedlings if they were too tiny or not well packaged but the loss was negligible compared to the many that arrived in great shape.

If you ask forum members to root for you and you cannot offer anything in exchange (yet), I think it is a good idea to offer some kind of reimbursement, minimum for the shipping cost. And there are numerous forumers who will be happy to send you cuttings but they are not very good at rooting themselves. Just be aware that some people (few) feel insulted or suspicious if one approaches them with this request. No idea why, but it happened recently (not to me, fortunately).

I would be glad to pay. Not just for shipping. I think I will wait and see if I can order the rose in January for Spring 2008. If that fails, I will ask the forum member or bite the bullet and order a custom root. $45 is a lot, though.

redsox,
Did you get my email? Go ahead and do what I asked, and we can go from there.

I didn't get your e-mail. I sent you an important Sports-related e-mail yesterday. You can e-mail me directly at theredsoxwin@yahoo.com. The GW e-mail does not always work.

Does the GW e-mail ever work?
I've sent many directly to avoid personal chatter on the forum and have never received a confirmation or reply. I suspect the GW e-mail service is an exercise in futility.